Do you listen... we mean, REALLY listen? 

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Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness and on the quality of your relationships with others.

For instance:

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• We listen to obtain information.

• We listen to understand.

• We listen for enjoyment.

• We listen to learn.

 

Given all the listening that we do, you would think we'd be good at it! In fact, most of us are not, and research suggests that we only remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear, as described by Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers, or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation.

 

Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren't hearing the whole message either. You hope the important parts are captured in your 25-50 percent, but what if they're not?

 

Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you can improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What's more, you'll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success.

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In your employees personal life, friends may be more likely to confide in you and partners may be more open to constructive criticism. In a professional setting, coworkers may be more inclined to collaborate with you, and clients may choose you over others in your field who don’t take the time to listen. Active listening is considered one of many “soft skills”—valuable nontechnical abilities and characteristics associated with personality, attitude, and the ability to interact effectively, which are just as important as the technical skills necessary to do our jobs.

 

Does this sound like a skill you need your employees to have? 

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